These are the opinions of an unknown man. I write about whatever comes to mind.

"Mistrust those in whom the urge to punish is strong." Friedrich Nietzche

"Any and all non-violent, non-coercive, non-larcenous, consensual adult behavior that does not physically harm other people or their property or directly and immediately endangers same, that does not disturb the peace or create a public nuisance, and that is done in private, especially on private property, is the inalienable right of all adults. In a truly free and liberty-loving society, ruled by a secular government, no laws should be passed to prohibit such behavior. Any laws now existing that are contrary to the above definition of inalienable rights are violations of the rights of adults and should be made null and void." D. M. Mitchell (from The Myth of Inalienable Rights, at: http://dowehaverights.blogspot.com/)

Thursday, February 01, 2007

An Excerpt from The Guru Papers

"The 'morality play' solution cannot stand up under close examination. Eternity is a long time. To be damned eternally for succumbing to the powerful temptations that God (though his vehicle Satan) put forth as a test again paints a picture of a harsh, vengeful God who gives the ultimate punishment for disobedience. What caring parent would so test and punish a child? Also, to postulate that God created evil (or to be kinder, allowed it) in order to give humanity the freedom to choose does not explain why God made it much easier for some to choose good than others. Why some are given an easier context (loving parents) to choose good in than others (severely emotionally deprived children) is never adequately addressed. This is an especially poignant issue in Christianity because you only have one chance to do it right.

"Calvinists pushed the argument further in asking if God knew beforehand the choices one would make. For them, to say no would put a limit on the power and knowledge of God. So, if God knew beforehand what choice one would make, it had to have been predetermined. The problem here was why so many people were predetermined to be bad. The Calvinist solution was to emphasize that mankind is essentially evil (original sin) and could only be saved by the grace of God. What was not properly addressed is why some received grace and some did not; and why God would construct a whole species that was born initially evil, and concern himself with whom to save and not to. Being omniscient, there could not even be any mystery in watching the morality play unfold, for God must have known from the get-go who were the few elect he was going to save, and that he was creating a large majority to be damned eternally. this seems like an odd pastime for a God who is all good. From a human standpoint, this does not seem like a very nice thing to do."

The above is from the Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad, copyright 1993 by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad, published by Frog, Ltd. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

I wholeheartedly agree with what the authors of The Guru Papers have to say. I came to the same conclusion independently, before reading their book, by the use of logic.

The Myth of Inalienable Rights as Applied to the War on Drugs: The Tyranny of Legislating Morality

Violence, corruption, the violation of the rights of millions of citizens, the highest per capita incarceration rate, as well as the greatest number of actual people in prison of any nation in the world, all brought to you by the $100 billion per year failure and longest-running war in America...the so-called "war on drugs." If you thought the government was supposed protect your rights, not violate them, you need to read this essay: The Myth of Inalienable Rights, at http://dowehaverights.blogspot.com/.